The game
by andreea.iris
Summary: HG/SS. Severus Snape wins Hermione Granger at dice, when her father loses her to a nasty and evil Death Eater. And on top of this he has to marry her because of a new law. Are they going to fall in love or are they going to spend the rest of their lifes
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **The game

**Author: Ashakiran**

**Rating: **NC-17

**Pairing: **Hermione Granger/Severus Snape

**Warnings:** Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations

**Summary: **HG/SS. Severus Snape wins Hermione Granger at dice, when her father loses her to a nasty and evil Death Eater. And on top of this he has to marry her because of a new law. Are they going to fall in love or are they going to spend the rest of their lifes together hating each other?

**Disclaimer: I**e do not own any of the characters herein (only the plot). All the characters in the Harry Potter universe belong exclusively to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, and anyone else JKR chooses to allow to play with them. We are publishing our fanfiction writings only for our own selfish desire to be a part of their world.

**Authors' Note: **I have a HUGE favour to ask. I would really, really appreciate if someone would BETA for me. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE

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Our story begins with our beautiful Miss Hermione Granger, one of the best members of the Order, now on the age of 19 years old, shopping in Madam's Henrietta on Diagon Alley.

But our happy Miss Hermione, as friends still called her, was being watched with lust, hunger, desire, need and wish of possession over her, by one the only man who wanted her since she was in school Marcus Flint who was accompanied by one of his friends, Gregory Wrentham, another Slytherin mate.

"I will have her." Flint said with a voice that determined lust and most of all determination.

"You do know she hates you, don't you? "Asked Wrentham in an amused voice.

"No matter what it takes I will have. Remember that."

At Hermione's house, that night

"Hello! Dad, I'm back. "Said Hermione with an enthusiastic voice.

"Miss, you dad had left an hour and a half ago with Mister Harry." Said Maiden, the house butler, a 68-year-old man.

"Did my dad say where he was going? "Ask Hermione with a voice who was starting to sound concerned.

"At his usual night escapade." Said from behind her Eudora, the maid a 50-year-old woman who was her friend, her nanny and protector and a mother since her natural mother had died in a muggle car accident when she was little.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! "Said Hermione with a broken voice after she heard where her father was. "Please, God, let him win just once against him. Just once let him win against Flint. Please, God. "Said Hermione who was praying and in the same time looking at the sky.

In a restricted casino, same time

At a poke table, Peyton Granger, who was playing along with 5 other men and was accompanied by Harry, was winning another "hand".

"Peyton, please, stop playing." Said the black-headed boy who-is-going-to-save-the-world.

"Oh! One more game. One more game, boy." Said Peyton.

"If you won't do it for you, please think of Hermione. "

The name Hermione brought him back to reality and so he said to the other players "I have been advised to be careful so I'm going to stop here. "

"You are excused, Peyton. You have paid your dues to us tonight."

"Good bye, gentlemen!"

"Good bye, Peyton!"

And with that he got up from the table and walked to the door. When he opened the wooden doors he got face to face to his great enemy, Marcus Flint.

Hermione's father developed a passion for gambling over the years, but not to increase their fortune, but because he liked to play since always. He used to play ones or twice a week. But since he got richer his passion increased. It also increased because his enemy, Marcus Flint, was constantly provoking him and her father never won against him.

Her father became a bigger enemy since Hermione rejected him when Flint asked her to be his girlfriend years ago and since then he never gave up his hope that sooner or later, one way or another she will belong to him.

Hermione always-found, Flint a disgusting, repulsive, sordid, ghastly, nauseating, libidinous, grows guy, but especially in school because everything he was to doing toward her and towards everyone. She was finding him so repulsive that if someone under the threat of the wand would have made her choose between kissing Flint and sleeping with Malfoy who tormented her and her family in school, but later joined the Order to prove that he wasn't such a bad guy and he acted that way towards her because he had to, she would have chosen without a second thought to sleep with Malfoy.

She and Harry were the only one in the family and among friends, who knew about her father's vice, not even Ron, Harry finding out by accident. So they were the ones who carried this burden, because they couldn't tell her family about this vice since gambling was known only in restricted circles and she wanted that her family and friends would have a perfect image about her father. Because of this entire situation she and Harry became very close friend.

"Had a good night, Peyton? You look very happy. Care to join me to a game?" said Flint with a sly voice.

"Tonight it was indeed a good night. And I feel that the luck is on my side tonight" said Peyton with a triumph voice.

"Really? I always have the luck on my side, especially when I'm playing with you, but since you think you have the luck on your side tonight, maybe you'll finally beat me."

At this words Harry whispered to Peyton "Please, Peyton, lets go. You won enough and besides you know that he always wins."

"I have to win against him," said Peyton with a trembling voice and with that he turned to Flint.

"Dice, Peyton?" asked Flint and Peyton nodded not thrusting his voice.

And with this they walked to the dice table.

"Money on the table, gentlemen. " and with that began a game where Peyton was throwing big dice, but Flint always was throwing bigger ones then Peyton and they played until Peyton had nothing left not even the house. Peyton was thinking about leaving the table when his thoughts were interrupted by the noise made by the doors opening.

The massive doors revealed the man who opened them, a very respected man around the chance games because he was known for the fact that he was winning against any player who was challenging him, non other then Severus Snape, the 35-year-old Potion Master. He looked around the room and the dice table caught his attention. He moved closer to the table in order to see the results of the game till that moment.

"Leaving so soon, Peyton? "Said Flint when he saw that Peyton was getting up from the table.

"I have nothing left to play."

"You still got your beautiful Hermione. I provoke you for the girl and the house against everything I have won tonight. What do you say, Peyton? "

"You can't play you own girl, Peyton. " said with a desperate voice Harry.

"I can't either go home and tell her I have lost everything. Say that I'll win against him. Please. I have to win. "

And then he wrote a cart with the agreement. With that he turn to Flint who had a triumph look on his face, put the card on the table and said "My daughter and the house against everything you have won tonight." He took the dice in his hands, shakes them a little and throws them on the table. It was a 6:3. Then Flint gets the dice does the same procedure and throws…

6:4.

The room was in complete shook and began to whisper. When he is seeing the results Peyton looks lost like a little boy who had lost something important. And he had lost something important his little girl. What was he going to do now it was the question that was rising on the lips of everyone in the room. Peyton got up from the table and left the room closing the doors behind him. Harry was going to do the same thing when he heard Snape's voice.

"I will throw you 500,000 galleons for the house and the girl," he said with a voice that betrayed not a single emotion.

"Done. Tonight I'm unbeatable even by you, Snape. " Said Flint with a triumph voice.

So he took the dice and throw 6:5. Then Snape did the same. He got………


	2. Chapter 2

6:6

"Double take him." Was heard from the crowd.

6:6… Nobody could believe it. 6:6… These showed that Flint didn't have the luck on his side when he played against Snape. 6:6… These numbers proved as always that Snape could win any challenge against anybody that provoked him.

At the shown of the dice the room broke into rumors. "Incredible!" "Lucky bastard! He won the beautiful Hermione." "What luck!" "I can't believe that Flint lost." "Who would have thought?" "Pour Payton! He didn't know when to stop!" "What will happen to Hermione?" "How is Hermione going to react?" These were just the few questions that were heard around the room

When the dice hit the table, the smirk on Flint's face faded. He couldn't believe it. HE HAD LOST. He lost HER. He lost his chance to get his little Hermione. He couldn't believe that the luck that was always on his side left him when he most needed him, when he thought that he was one step closer in making Hermione his. He just needed the biggest dice and he would have her. He had her, but it had to interfere Snape. And now she seems to be far away from him. Now all his plans went up side down because of same simple dice. He is going to have created another plan in order to have Hermione. But he wasn't going to quit so easy. He wanted her and in the end he is going to HAVE her. This was just a little obstacle. Nothing more.

When the dice hit the table and revealed the score, so many thoughts spread through Harry's head. On one hand he was happy because Flint wasn't going to have Hermione, but on the other hand he was miserable because Hermione and the house were on the hand of his ex-professor, but not just any professor, the greasy bat, the Slytherin Head of House, the sociopath, the man without guilt, the man for whom the world has been opened, and he can get what he wants when he wants it, the ruthless killer enjoys hurting people and he enjoys people being afraid of him, the sadist, the man who is never happier then when he's killing or hurting people, the Death Eater and although he is a spy for the Order, Harry still didn't trusted him. But still…

**BANG!**

Harry's thoughts along with everyone else's in the room were interrupted by the sound of a gun discharging. Harry looked for a moment from Flint to Snape and then he ran through the wooden doors to see what had happen, where the sound was coming from. He didn't want to think that… No… He couldn't… But when he saw what had happen he couldn't believe it. It was impossible. It was horrible. He took one more look and then he went back to the gambling room.

When the big, wooden doors opened every pair of eyes in the room were directed to him waiting to be informed what was going on. And then Harry said with a gloomy voice 4 words: "Someone call the Aurors!"(A\N: I hope I spell it correct.) And that was all he said because nobody asked any other questions because there was no space for other questions.

Snape's POV

When I throw the dice I closed my eyes, then when the sound of the dice hitting the table filled my ears I slowly opened my eyes and I looked in Flint's. When I looked into his eyes I could see pride-ness, arrogance, haughtiness, smugness, the feeling of assurance that he was going to win Hermione, but what surprised me was to find there lust toward the girl. But it wasn't the lust that could be found in any playboy's eyes any guy who was sleeping with one woman today and another tomorrow and so on. It was a different kind of lust; it was a brutal, atrocious, evil, cruel, vile, animalist lust, which made me think that the only reason that he provoked Payton to dice was to win the girl.

When I first got into the gambling room, I scanned the room and my eyes stopped on the dice table because around it were gathered most of the people that were in the room. I moved closer to the table in order to see the results of the game till that moment. Flint was winning and Payton was losing. It wasn't a good situation because I could see on Payton's face the fact that he had just lost everything he had. It wasn't necessary for anybody to tell me that because I knew that kind of face very well. I had seen it before so many times that I couldn't have been mistaken it.

Payton was going to get up from the table when he was stopped by Flint's proposal. When I heard Flint's offer the only think that went through my mind in that moment was disgust. How can anybody want to win a young woman to dice no matter how gorgeous she could be? It was a horrible thought. Even if I was an ex-Slytherin and I mean a Slytherin in all the power of the word, I would have never thought about betting a girl to a chance game. I had a limit. I was raised as a gentleman and this thing was far from being a gentleman's limit even a Slytherin gentleman. But what disgusts me the most was the fact that Payton accepted Flint's offer. If I thought that Flint was an awful person then I was wrong. It was the most repulsive, hideous, gross thing that any one could do, betting his own daughter. How can Payton do this to his own daughter? For Merlin's sake, she was his own daughter. The next question that spread through my mind it was: "What if Payton would lose his daughter?" I didn't want to think about it. But soon my fears became true. Payton had lost Hermione. I saw him leave the table and out of the room. I could tell he was devastated, but I furious. Not because I had any feeling towards the girl, but about the situation, about Payton and I didn't want to leave an innocent girl like Hermione Grander in the hand of a man like Flint. So I decided to win the girl because I knew Flint and his reputation and I knew that she would be safer with me then with him because I knew that I could never touch her unless she would want to, if she was willing to sleep with me, think that I wasn't so sure that it could happen with Flint. I could respect her in everyway possible and I knew Flint wouldn't. So I decided to win Hermione. I said win and not bet and hope to win because I always had the luck on my side whenever it came to this kind of things and I could always win any gambling bet that was made with me And as always I was right. The luck was on my side even tonight.

When I saw the results of the game I was satisfied that I could wipe off the smirk of his face. I could see his disappointed face. I was in one way happy because I could protect her until someone else could when she would marry that someone. And with that I took the card and my money from the table and put them in the pocket of my robe. Then I heard a gun discharged. I saw Potter, who I didn't notice before, going to the door in order to investigate what had happen. A moment later I saw him coming back with a horrible look on his face and he said nothing but "someone call the Aurors!" And that was all he needed to say because everyone understood what had happen. Then I looked one more time at Flint, then to Potter and I left the room as if nothing had happen, because it wasn't really anything I could have done and because my slytherin thoughts came to the surface.

End of Snape's POV

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So how did you like this new chapter?

You didn't think I would let Hermione end up with Flint?

Well till next time...

Sayonara


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so sorry I couldn't update till now. I had my final exams and I wanted to concentrate on them. Now that I finished, You my faithful readers will have my attention.

Just so I can make it up to you you'll have two chapters. Hope you'll like them.

I aslo wanted to tell you that this is a story that I posted long ago under different user. So it's my story.

I wanted to thank those who read and review my story. It makes me think that I'm not writing it for nothing.

And for the story.

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Hermione's POV

Since I've heard where my father and Harry were I couldn't stop pacing. I was so nervous. I couldn't believe it. He was gone again and Harry was right beside him. I was hopping that at least he would listen to Harry and gamble less or not at all, but I doubt about it. Why couldn't he give up this vice? Why couldn't I make him stop playing? Why is Harry not stopping him whenever dad goes there…in that…that horrible place…I don't even want to think about it? All I think about right now is that father is gambling. Since I heard where he was I didn't stop pacing and praying.

"Stop pacing, Mione. You are driving me crazy and you are making me more nervous than I already am!" I heard my many, Eudora, say to me from across the room.

"I'm sorry, Nan. It's just that…I'm scared. He makes me go worried like crazy when he leaves…THERE. I don't know if I can do this anymore. I don't know if I'm strong enough to lie to my family. What if one night one of them wants to stay over night or just visit when he is gone? What am I suppose to tell them? I just can't shutter the image they have about him. I can't just tell them «Hey! You know why he is not home? Because he is out gambling. And do you know what else? He is gambling since our parents got married even early. » I can't just tell them that their father is not who is supposed to be. How am I going to explain that I lied to them for so many years? How…" and I couldn't hold back the tears that were forming in my eyes. My nanny came to me and took me in her arms and I sobbed at her chest long, salty tears, for all the times that I lied to my brothers, to my friends, toward dad. As I sobbed I cradle in her arms feeling protected. She was the only one who could make me feel like that.

She just kept me n her arms patting my hair. After a while my sobs died and then she said, "Why don't we go to the kitchen and eat something? It's been 5 ½ hours since you came and you haven't ate since lunch"

"I couldn't eat. I don't fell much like eating right now."

"At least lets have some hot chocolate. What do you say?"

"I guess we could." I said slyly. She knew that in these moments all that could make me feel better was a cup of hot chocolate. Even if I could hear my stomach making strange sounds I couldn't eat because I was sure that if I did I was going to throw everything I ate.

We went to the kitchen and Nan prepared hot chocolate and then we went back to the living to wait for dad to come back. It was 5 o'clock in the morning when I felt asleep in the living on the couch in front of the fire waiting for dad and Harry to come home.

I wake up a few hours later by someone who was sacking me lightly. I opened my eyes, hopping that it was dad, but I was disappointed to find that it was Harry.

"Hi, sleepy head" he said with a joyful voice and a smile on his face.

"Hi, Harry. Where's dad?" I asked shyly. When I mentioned dad Harry's face went from smiling to sadness and I looked into his eyes. I could see that something had happened.

"Harry, what happened? Where's dad?"

"He…he…" he said with a broken voice.

"What is it? Something happened to him, isn't it? Please, tell me!"

And he told me everything that had happened that night. When he finished telling me the whole story I was sobbing like crazy, mumbling "he killed my dad! He killed him! Flint killed my dad!" I was having a brake-down. Harry stood there holding in his arms tidily as I was beginning to sake harder and harder.

"Eudora, come fast. Call the healers. She's having a break-down." Harry said with a worried voice, not knowing what else to do. Eudora, who was in the kitchen the whole time, brook in the room as fast as she could and when she saw the whole scene she immediately floo-ed to Armand, a family healer, who came immediately, and gave me some potion to calm myself. He said to Harry and Eudora that in half an hour, 45 minutes I'm going to be all right. He also instructed Eudora to give me a sleeping potion since I had a white night waiting for dad and Harry to come back and that it would help me calm down easily.

When I finally calmed down, I begin to sob incontrollable in Harry's arms for every lie that I had to tell my family, for every night that I spent awake waiting for dad to come back, for every lie that dad told me promising to me that it would be the last time he would do this, for every broken promise of dad's, for mum who spent nearly 27 years hiding dad's vice, for the moment I lost all my respect to dad, for the moment I found about this terrible vice, for the fact that I had lost all my love to him as a father, because I couldn't love him like that, for the fact that after his "nights" he would come home and beat the crap out of me releasing his frustration, of the night before, for the fact that I couldn't tell anyone what my DAD was doing to me, for the fact that my own father bet me to some stupid dice, for the fact that my life wasn't going to belong to me anymore, for the fact that for the first time in my life I didn't know what to do and most of all for the fact that I was FINALLY free. Now I wouldn't have to pretend anymore. While I was sobbing salty, heavy tears, Harry was whispering to me tings like "Everything will be ok" or "I'm here. Don't worry!" or "it's ok". I cried for so long until I had no tears to cry. After my sobs stopped Harry and Nana asked me to take a tea in which I was sure that was the sleeping potion that the doctor prescribed. I didn't take the sleeping potion because I couldn't sleep right now. It wasn't the time to sleep. It was time of taking care of the mess dad left behind him. I looked at Harry and I saw on his face worries, guilt and another feeling that I couldn't put my finger on, and I didn't bother. Neither spoke anything and between us there was silence for a while until Harry decided to break it.

"What are you going to do?"

End of Hermione's POV

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So what do you think? Please let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

So as I promised here's the second chapter for you.

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"What are you going to do?" Hermione heard Harry say. She looked into his eyes and she saw that he was concern.

"I don't know, Harry, I don't know. This is just to much information for me all at once." She said with her voice down, sad and broken. "But one thing I know. I'm not going to run away."

"But, Mione, you know what people say about Snape, about his reputation."

"No one can be worst than that despicable man, Flint. No Granger had ever run away and I'm not going to be the first. We have always paid our debs."

"But, Mione, there must be a way out of this. Don't worry, I'll find one."

"Please, Harry, don't try to change my mind because you know you can't. I'm a Granger after all. So instead of being against me, please, try to support me because right now I need all the support I can get. Especially from you, Harry, my best friend." Hermione begged him looking into his big eyes, hidden behind the glace. And with that she got up from where she was sitting and went to her room leaving Harry in an empty room with his thoughts.

At Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dumbledore's office, same night

Severus was pacing in front of Dumbledore's desk. He was angry for several reasons:

He had won at dice, AT DICE for Christ's, Merlin's and all gods names AT DICE, Hermione Granger, a girl, his ex-student, Potter's friend.

Her father had gambled his own daughter at dice, thought that made him throw up right that instant all over Albus's office of disgust. How can a father do this to his daughter? He wasn't a father, but even he wouldn't do what Granger's father did.

He was angry on his thoughts in the moment when he had won her. What was he thinking? He didn't knew.

Albus had his usual damn twinkle in his eyes for same reason unknown to him, which annoyed him to no end.

And above all, Voldemort was blowing in his cervix to come up with a plan to make Harry Potter weak and win against him.

What was he going to do now that he had won the girl and how was he going to protect her from Voldemort? He had to think of something and really fast before Voldemort would find out about it. And he had to tell him before he would find out from somebody else and punish him for disobedience.

And what was he thinking when he provoked Flint. He just could just stay and let Flint get the girl no matter how irritating and know-it-all and good friend with Potter she was. For same strange reason he didn't brought himself to leave the girl in Flint's hands. He knew very well what was going to happen to her if he would have left Flint get his hands on her. He knew it very well because he had seen it so many times before: multiple rape, hits and cuts all over her body and her brilliant mind destroyed.

Yes, you heard right. He said she had a brilliant mind. He thought she was very intelligent and smart maybe she was his brightest student he had taught and he liked the fact that she was interested in potions and was doing everything she had to make him see what she was capable of. And he saw her. He remarked her. And he was making potions for her harder than to anyone else because he knew and he wanted to know how far she could go. And she was making successfully any potion he was giving her. And when she chooses to continue her studies in the potion domain it made his proud. Now she was in her last years of university. He knew this because he received last month a letter from the university, which assigns him as the one who would teach her from now on for 5 years the art of making potions. Because to him, potions was an art. And he would be able to teach and show her this art. Because of this he was proud of her, but he never told her that. Not to her not to anyone. And he didn't thought that he would ever. But he had an idea that the man from the desk knew this. And if he knew he never mention anything. And now because of him she would be in danger. Why didn't he thought? Wait! He did and he got to the conclusion that it was better than to leave her in Flint's hands.

"Now, that you couldn't have done that. She would have been in far greater danger in Flint's hand that she is now. At least we can think of some kind of plan to protect her." Said Dumbledore.

Severus stopped pacing and looked at him realizing that he had voiced his last thoughts out loud.

"Yes. You're right. But are we going to do now?" said Severus.

"We'll have to have a meeting with Miss Granger and present her the current situation. We cannot, under any circumstances, tell Mr. Potter because of his connection with Who-must-not-be-named." said Dumbledore. When Severus agreed he continued "And perhaps in this situation the best solution will be for you to marry Miss Granger."

Severus sadly agreed with his old friend. Maybe this would be the best solution.

"And this would cover another problem." Severus looked puzzled to Dumbledore who said simple, "The marriage law."

Severus remembered the law. He had managed to escape the law when it was promulgated two years ago. He remembered what happened when people from the wizardry world heard about it. Some people were against the law and they have done everything in their power to stop the law from being promulgated. The law was approved by the Parliament in spite of what everyone thought. But the law was elaborated in a way that it made impossible for wizards and witches, which got married to be divorced. So it was established. The ones who got married could separate. But like any everything this law had its ways of escape, but they were only for a short period of time after which you were forced to get married. If it would have been this simple it would have been ok, but not always things are simple. You were to be married but with someone the Minister choose.

"Yes but I will have to pull some wires to make this possible. And I'm sure I'm going to be able once I present the situation to Voldemort. Now all it is left to do is convince Miss Granger."

"I will have a meeting with her in a few days after everything goes back to normal. Well as normal as they could be normal under the circumstances." Severus said.

"Yes I think it would be for the best. But after your visit, I want to have a word with Miss Granger. We will have to tell her the truth about you, my boy. She might help us in ways that you might not see it at moment" the headmaster said seeing the aggravated face of the potion teacher. Severus said nothing to this.

"Well. Since this is all, I'll go to my laboratory and prepare the potion that Poppy asked for. Good Bye, Albus." Severus said and went to the fireplace to floo to his chambers.

"Good night, Severus!"

After two weeks, Severus apparated from Hogsmeade in front of Hermione's house, which on the exterior wasn't so bad. He knocked to the door and waited for someone to answer. After about 10 minutes still there was no answer.

"The girl is taking her time!" Severus thought impatient. "Probably trying to calm down her frizzy hair to make an appearance." Another voice in his head answer in a mocking tone and he started to laugh silently. But then the door opened reveling an old man. Snape said "Tell Miss Granger that Severus Snape is here."

"Come in, please." The man said stepping aside to let the person inside. "She'll be here in a moment."

When he came in, the room was nothing like he imagined it would be. The room was characterized by elegance, style, classic furniture combined with new one and in the center of the room was a staircase with two sets of stairs cut in the middle.

At the top of the staircase was a wrinkled woman and came descended till the middle of the staircase where she stopped.

Severus smirked to himself, but then his mouth drooping to the floor replaced his smirk, but after a second or two recovering his smirk reappeared on his face. On top of the staircase was coming a gorgeous girl. NO. A woman. Which looked nothing like his annoying ex-student which he haven't seen since the school finished.

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So what do you think? Please let me know.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hermione Granger**

She descended so delicate, so slight, and so slow that it looked like she wasn't even touching the ground. She was descending so graceful and natural that you would have said that she was a muse of Zeus that came down from Mount Olympus.

While she was descending, her brown like chocolate hair that was coming down in a cascade elegantly on her back was straight and long cut at her waist. Her hair was moving down her back so slowly, so leisurely and so gentle that the pencil of lights that were coming from the candles that were flooding in the air all around the room that stopped on her hair it made it look silky and shinny, so silky that was temping you to touch it to stoke it, to caress it to fill it through your hands.

The hair was in framing an oval face with a white skin like milk foam, a skin so perfect that any make-up made to cover any imperfection of the skin was useless, unnecessary,

A skin that was healthy, fine, very velvety and smooth like the peel of a warm fruit basked in the sun.

While she was descending, the pencil of light were falling on her face and in that moment it seemed that were emphasizing her eyes, those eyes that were glowing and transmitting countless emotions like love, sensibility, fragility, gentleness, purity, but most of all dignity, pride, strength, honesty and courage. Lot of courage. Courage to face the winner of the bet, courage to face other people that knew about her "situation", in one word the courage to face the entire world. Those eyes that were transmitting so much without the need of any word were pointed out by a magnificent brown like coffee, a glowing brown. Those big-lighted coffee eyes were fixing him, the man who won her, with full of curiosity.

Two thin eyebrows, so thin that looked like that they were outlined by a pencil, and a small nose, perfectly framed in the outlines of her face and were welcoming her mouth, pinpointed those splendid and outstanding eyes.

Her mouth had thin lips, perfect lips because they could not be other way those lips, those sensual lips, lips of a red-pale color, lips that seemed to ask to be dominated by thousands of kisses.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and she was beaming with a mixture of innocence, purity and sensuality that he never met before. There was something terribly sensual about her and for this reason she appeared in his eyes more attractive than any woman from those he met in his life and they weren't just a few. She appeared to him as a thought-provoking soul dressed in a wonderful and mysterious flesh and he was attracted to her in an irresistible way.

She was caring her entire thin feeble and delicate being so beautiful, so graceful on her way down. Her graceful movements were accompanied with the movements of her thin, long and sensual legs that were moving so graceful that they looked like the movements of the most elegant feline in the world, movements that were completed with the movements of her hands that were moving so slow and delicate by her slender and supple body.

Even under that dress her arms and breasts were rounds and soft. Her white breasts seemed to him beautiful and gorgeous outlined under that dress not to big, not to smalls, just perfects and her hips although narrow and slender were offering the dress a special sensuality, in one word her body was filled in all the right places.

She was wearing a simple, light dress of the color of a pale-pink that went along perfectly with her skin, with no sleeves, with a not so deep cleavage of the dress and was tied with a thin pair of braces, cut above her knees and tied around the delicate waist by a large white belt that was pointing out the body shape, body that could compete with great honor with the body of any famous model, a body that any model would do anything to have it.

"Good afternoon!" she said when she got at the bottom of the staircase looking at the four people that were standing in front of her, people that she hadn't seen since they finished school. She had a voice equal with her physical beauty. It was as clear as crystal, as a silver bell, a clear and sweet voice although it had some resonance. It was as feminine as her entire being.

She seemed to him the most beautiful woman in the world when Snape saw her descending the staircase. She looked so stunning, so dazzling, and so spectacular and yet she looked so innocent, so unprotected, so defenseless and so vulnerable. And in that moment he wanted to … at these thoughts he shook his head gently thinking about his next move.

When Hermione descended the staircase stopped and her eyes caught the man who man won her at dice, Severus Snape.

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So what do you think of Hermione? Please let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

First of all I would like to thank all my readers. Thank you all who are faithful to me every chapter and really hope that I'm not going to mess it up.

I hope you like this chapter.

**Severus Snape **

The first thing she notices about Snape was his elegance. He was wearing a black very elegant and chic Armani suit, from a very smooth fabric and easy to wear and a white simple natural silk shirt close at neck with a black elegant silk tie and oven them his immaculate robe. He looked like new, like got out the box.

A/N I know it's a muggle fashion designer, but I absolutely love Armani for men clothing designer. To me Armani is the best men-clothing designer. To me when you say Armani, you say style, sophistication and elegance. I'm trying to show you how elegant Snape was. Work with me. Ok?

His imposing, respectful, masculine carriage, but most of all attractive completed Snape's elegance. Because Snape was an attractive man, a very attractive man.

He had jet black hair smoothly and nice hair do that you could say that every lock of hair that seemed to be hair do and arranged every single one of them separately was falling elegantly and lightly in his eyes, but only a few locks of his long till ears hair. They were falling in his beautiful eyes and an immaculate skin, by a perfect, pale skin, framed them.

He had the Spanish look the drove crazy any woman that went along so well with his black hair, black eyes, pale skin, that well build body and that Italian accent.

Snape had black eyes, big, beautiful eyes that seemed to be draw by a famous painter and not even if he could draw them he couldn't have done it to well because when you looked into his eyes they had something that attracted you, when you looked carefully into them they seemed to hide a mystery that had to be discovered, that was urging on exploring them and then conquer them and decode them, but you could never decode them completely because every time you seemed to solve it all out you discovered new and new mysteries bounded to the previous one and it looked like it was never over and slowly you sink into the infinite abyss of his eyes, those eyes that seemed to hold the secret of time because when Hermione looked attentive into them it looked like time had stopped around them, that was nothing around them, just the two of them.

Those black eyes framed features typical masculine, but attractive and seductive, features that were completed by the mouth, with lips not to big, not to small, not to thin, not to thick, just perfect that prompting you to kiss them.

His body had graceful movements like feline movements, but with a sense of co-ordination very well developed and his hands, his long and olive hands where hanging around his body as if they weren't of a human being, well developed body not to strong, not to thin, just right, just what a man needed to feel good about the way he looked, but also a body that would make any woman protected in his arms and any other man jealous for it.

When his black eyes met her coffee ones they knew that they would belong to each other forever, they knew that they were made one for the other. Like the sides of the same coin. When their eyes met they both felt that a strike that came from both their eyes was sending each other shivers down the spine. When their eyes met they knew that they will never belong to another person, they knew that it was love at first sight, but neither of them would admit, not for the world, not JUST yet.

And everything went from wrong to right

And the stars came out and filled up the sky

The music you were playing really blew my mind

It was love at first sight

'Cause baby when I heard you

For the first time I knew

We were meant to be as one

Kylie Minogue – Love At First Sight

"Good afternoon!" he said as a reply to her. He had a strong, firm, calm voice, but in the same time it had a shade of sensuality and masculinity, very characteristic to Snape..

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So what do you think of Severus? I think he looks preaty good. Please let me know.

I would like to ask if some would like or want to be my beta. PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE

Sayonara till next time.


	7. Chapter 7

First of all I would like to thank all my readers. Thank you all who are faithful to me every chapter and really hope that I'm not going to mess it up.

I hope you like this chapter.

**Feelings**

When his coal eyes meat her coffee ones for them the time stopped around them. It was like there was no one in the room. For them in that moment there was no one else but them. When their eyes met their hearts started bouncing for a reason neither understood or wanted to understand. The pulse accelerated its speed and it seemed to both of them that their hearts would break their chests from beating so fast. But they forced each other's hearts to come back to their normal speed in order for their brain to take action.

Hermione's POV

_Oh, My God!_ it was all I could think about when I saw him. His whole appearance took my breath away. I didn't even think that it was possible for a man to take my breath away. I didn't even imagine it. Not one of my ex-s or any other men have done this to me when I first saw them. When I saw him as I descended the stairs, two words spread through my head: elegance and attractiveness. He had elegance and attractiveness combined with masculinity and sexuality.

_I bet that he has a black agenda where he writes down all the women he slept with _was the first think I thought when I looked at him and scanned his body up and down. Then I saw his eyes. His big beautiful black. His eyes were like two coals just extracted from the most hidden mine in the world. Then I understood what the girls from school meant when they were talking about his eyes. I could see it now. The truth was that I didn't even bother back in school to give him a second look. The fact that he was Head of the Slytherin house and the Potion Master was enough for me. And lets not add the fact that he tormented me and my friends, especially Harry. But now that I was looking into his eyes I could see how beautiful they were. I've never seen eyes like his and I have a feeling that I'm never going to see.

When I looked into his eyes I saw something intriguing, something I didn't think I could see in someone like him. Loneliness. I could name that something because it was the same something I saw when I was looking in the mirror. Even it I had Harry I was alone. Everyone around me seemed to have same one. Charlie had Elena, Percy had Adriana, Ron had Luna, Fred had Lavender, George had Amelia, Harry had Cho, and Ginny had Colin, Eudora and Madden had their families, and even father had something – his games. Everyone seemed to have someone, everyone but me. I was lonelier than I ever was in my life. I had a reason to be lonely, but him? Why could he ever be lonely? He had a great job even if he had to teach some dunderheads potions, he was rich – I read once in a magazine that he was filthy rich – he had no worries for tomorrow, he probably had someone in his life. But if he had someone in his life why would he bet on me? Why… there were so many questions that surrounded this man. To many questions for my taste. But I could have mistaken regardless the loneliness in his eyes. It could not have been loneliness that I have seen there.

But for a strange reason I was sure that I wasn't mistaken. And for even a stranger reason I wanted to know why he could be so lonely when I looked into his eyes. But the next moment his eyes were Blanc again like they were back in school. Now I remembered why I was so fascinated with his eyes back then. They always had something mysterious in them, something incredible captivating, absorbing, intriguing, enthralling but most of all mesmerizing. I didn't know why, and I still don't, but I have a feeling that I will. They say the eyes are windows of the soul. His eyes reflected his soul or a part of it. If his eyes were so lonely if only for a second – cause I now that I look more closely and attentive I know that that I saw in there was loneliness – then his soul was just as lonely and tormented. Because I know in this moment of clarity that this man that is standing in front of me has a soul and a heart. If not than how else would you explain what he did for me gambling and wining me, not letting me fall in the hands of the Death Eater, not letting me get raped and tortured. If not for this than why else.

And again for some strange reason I wanted to heal his tormented soul and bring a little peace and light in there. In that moment I realized I didn't know anything about this man. The man who won me at dice. The man who tormented me back in school, taking house points, giving me work harder than anyone else's, the man who saved me, Ron and Harry so many times back in school and me now from this situation.

I notice that he didn't have robe on him and was wearing a suit, a muggle suit. Strange thing for a very pure blooded wizard like Snape. I decided the he looked well with the suit on him. Made him look better. And I also notice that his hair wasn't greasy at all. It was nice, smooth and silky. I wandered if in school was like this because I didn't notice back then. I wandered how could I have not when right now was so obvious. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to it. And the way it was falling elegantly and lightly in his eyes, but only a few locks of his hair and with his nose, his big nose but not so big or at least to me it didn't seemed so big or it didn't bothered at all made him look different. For the first time I saw a different Snape. I was strange but a nice strange. I like it. It suit it him.

But for the strangest reason I wanted to know everything about this mysterious man. I wanted to decipher every enigma that was inside this man, that formed the man who is in front of me today. I wanted to solve the puzzle that formed the life and heart of Severus Snape. At this thought I shook my head. What was wrong with me? Why I was having these thoughts. I didn't want to think about this because I already had to many on my head, I had other problems to think about it. Maybe later I would think about this man. No. Later for sure I would think about this man. Later, but not now. So I continued descending the stairs.

Severus's POV

When I saw her descending the stairs all I could do was stare, but without her noting. I didn't want her to know I was staring at her. She would have laughed later at the thoughts that the greasy old bat was checking her out. I didn't want her to think that I was staring at her for same wrong reason. Why? I don't know.

I looked into her eyes. She had the most and most expressive eyes I had ever seen. Her were like her entire being. Gorgeous, stunning, elegant, attractive. It seems that there was nothing left from the girl from school. For a beginning her hear was strait and not bushy. It looked very good. It was silky and shinny, so silky that was temping me to touch it to stoke it, to caress it to fill it through my hands and was framing her face which had big-lighted coffee eyes that captivating me, but in a good way. And she had grown-up and she was filled in all the right places. She was changed and I knew it. I could bet that she has a long line of men that are going after her. For a strange reason I was bothered by this thought. Why does it seem to bother me? I didn't want to imagine her with other men. Why? It never happened to me before. Why does it bother me now these thoughts?

For some strange reason in this very second I wanted to love her, hold her in my arms, to know how she needs to be touched; I wanted to breath her and really taste her till I can fell her in my blood and in the end to lay helpless in her arms; I wanted to tell her that she's the one, that it's going to last forever, to give her faith, to hold her tight, a little tenderness and treat her right. I wanted… I stopped the trail of thoughts when I realized what I was thinking. How can I have such thoughts? And with her? It was wrong. She was my student and I was her teacher. If she knew what I was thinking she would find it gross, disgusting, unpleasant, sickening and who knows what other thoughts. For a strange reason I was bothered by this thought. Why does it seem to bother me? Why? It never happened to me before. I shook all my thoughts regarding this topic.

I continued studding her until I saw her eyes. When our eyes met I thought that she could read me through my eyes. I looked into her eyes and I knew she was nothing like those women that I spent my nights with. I knew that I could never do this to her. I knew that I could never spend one single night with her. I knew that she was a woman that needs to really love. I knew that in order to love her I needed to know her deep inside, to hear every thought, see her every dream and give her wings when she wants to fly.

This woman was transmitting so much through the eyes and yet it didn't bother me. I didn't know why and I didn't think much about it in this moment. For some strange reason I wanted to do all those things. I knew that I would never admit this not to her and not to me. Right in this moment I realized that I didn't know anything about that woman that was standing in front of me.

I put all these thoughts in the back of my mind so I could think about it later when I was alone. Right now all I know is that I need to talk to her about this situation.

End of Severus's POV

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So what do you think? Please let me know. Was I to bold?


	8. Chapter 8

**The meeting**

The trail of his thoughts was interrupted by her voice.

"Are you hungry? I can send to the kitchen…"

"I will not hear of it." Severus cut her politely. _Why am I being nice to her? What is wrong with me?_

"A glass of wine or fire-whisky then. Let's retreat to the living in order to talk more comfortably. Thank you, Madden. Eudora show our quest to the living." And she waited for Eudora to pass and then Severus and then she followed them in the living. He served him a gloss of fire-whisky and waited for him to begin. He looked at her and said.

"Perhaps you and I might talk, Miss Granger." She nodded and he continue. "To begin with, you cannot possibly go on living in this house. And since it now belongs to me, people will assume you are my…"

"And I understand from Harry" Hermione cut him off "Elena Flame already fills that position." She said and looked at him. He opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind. Seeing that he is not going to say anything she continued.

"I have ready a list of animals and annexes that are on the estate. I'm afraid that the counting are not in very good order…"

"My estate manager will sort it out before the house is sold out."

"Sold?"

"Naturally. Since you can't live here and I have no use for it…"

"I suppose so. I haven't thought about it."

"Which leaves you, Miss Granger. What am I to do with you?"

"I'm in your hands, sir. I must honor my father's debts."

"And I cannot for my reputation cancel it…"

"Now there is something of your reputation I well understand." She said in a sarcastic voice. At this he turned to face the fire with his back at her feeling suddenly offended.

"I believe that the best answer is for you to stay for the time being with my mother at the Snape Manor, my family home."

"Can I bring my nanny, Eudora?"

"Of course. I will send her ahead to make your arrival a little estrange."

"You are most kind."

"I will write to my mother to aspect you. I will came a little later." He paused and looked at her before continuing.

"Now that we solve one matter…"

"One matter?"

"Yes, Miss Granger we have another matter to discuss. But in order to do that I asked professor Dumbledore to came and help me presented to you."

"Why? Not that I mind that I will see professor Dumbledore, but why would you need him to help you discuss another matter as you putted if it involves you and me?"

"Two word: Marriage Law."

In that moment a knocked at the door interrupted their conversation.

"Enter." Said Hermione. Madden entered the room and said.

"There's here a man who said he was expected. He said his name was Albus Dumbledore."

"Thank you, Madden. Bring him here, please."

After a few moments in which both Hermione and Severus said nothing to each other, the door opened reveling professor Dumbledore. He was tall, thin, and very old man, judging by the silver of his hair and long beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.

"Good afternoon. Miss Granger, Severus."

"Thank you, Albus, for coming."

"No problem, Severus. How much have you told Miss Granger?"

"We haven't discussed the Marriage Law."

"Ah! Then I have arrived just in time. Miss Granger how much do you know about the law?"

"Not much. Only that you could escape it but only for a two maybe three years. After that you are forced into marriage with someone the Minister chooses."

"Well, Miss Granger," Albus started "that is the generalities of the law for those who didn't came in contact with the law. The law was elaborated in a way that it made impossible for wizards and witches, which got married to be divorced. The reason why we are asking you about the Marriage Law is that we are going to tell you the reason why Mr. Flint took a bet on you that night. It seems that the Dark Lord ordered Mr. Flint to do it and win you so he can use the marriage law to force you to marry Mr. Flint. He wants to use you so he can destroy Mr. Potter." Albus paused and let his words sink in Hermione's mind before continuing. "When the Dark Lord heard about the turn the plan took he was very upset, but Severus convinced him that things would be different if he would marry you instead of Mr. Flint since it was obvious that you hate him. So the Dark Lord arranged with his spy inside of the Minister that you and Severus, Miss Granger, got marry on a date establish by you two within 30 day from the day of the announcement made in written of your marriage."

When he finished, he looked at Hermione. She was in total shock. So Voldemort wants her in order to kill Harry? It was not possible. No, she was just a mudblood, a know-it-all. Why? What is going to happen now?

"So… you're telling me that I have to marry my ex-professor?" Hermione asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes. In order to provide you protection" Severus said reentering the conversation "and if you want or not, you will marry me."

"I think I need a little time to think things over. Right now I'm crying over my father." Hermione said "please I just need some time, not to much."

"It's all right, Miss Granger." Severus said "But this discussion is not over we will finish this discussion at the Snape Manor. Since you understand why you cannot possibly go on living in this house"

"Well… As talked about what it needed to be talked about for now, we should retreat in order to leave Miss Granger to think about what we talked. Severus or me will contact you in the following days to finish arranging your wedding and other things."

And with this Dumbledore said his good byes and walked out the door. Severus pause, he looked at her straight in the eyes and said.

"In tell some solution suggests itself, Miss Granger, let us remain as we are two strangers brought together by a game of chance."

He bowed with his head and she did the same as if it was same understanding, a silent understanding between them. And with this he started walking to the door. He opened it, but stopped and turned to her as if he forgot to tell her something.

"Ah! Try not to be afraid of my mother."

"Why?" She asked puzzled. He didn't answer and felt the room closing the door behind him.

Hermione's POV

After he left I stayed in the same place where I have been standing the whole conversation, thinking about what have been said that night and most of all about his last statement. _In tell some solution suggests itself, Miss Granger; let us remain, as we are two strangers brought together by a game of chance. _I was puzzled. I didn't know what to think. This whole situation that I am in, was confusing. I didn't know why I was impressed by him and most of all I didn't know why I felt the way I did when I looked into his eyes. And, on God and Merlin, I wanted to know why.

_In tell some solution suggests itself, Miss Granger; let us remain, as we are two strangers brought together by a game of chance._

I was still thinking about it when the door opened and Eudora came in. She called my name several times but I didn't answer as I was caught in my thoughts.

"Miss Hermione?" she said again as she approach me.

"I know little of men, I am aware of what they say about him, but I have never been more confused by a man in my life."

End of Hermione's POV

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AN:

So what do you think? Please let me know.

I had fun writing the first part of this chapter. I hope you'll like it.

It was suggested that i might not try to go to much into descriptions. I'll try not but I'm not sure how much I'll succeeded since I'll need it in my story.

About the bet. I'll try to clear a few things up. From what I've read in other stories and from the books it was suggested that the plot of the books took place in a mixture of medieval and modern. So I took the medieval thing and wrote part of my story on it. I watched a movie once that gave this idea, so...

It was a time in history when women had no rights and they where objects to the men, times where they had no word no rights. So I guest that betting your daughter was not such a bad thing. I know it is a bad thing in our times but then it was common.

Anybody wants to be my beta? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.

Thank you for you advices and your reviews.

Kisses everyone.

Till next time... Sayonara


	9. Chapter 9

**The manor**

The manor, equipped of a great war apparatus, represents the typical medieval castle; its set, to shape of a irregular pentagon, is protect from one double garden-walls and walk over circular turrets and quadrangular towers.

The manor, to leave from the ' 300, year in which the shape assumes large way puts into effect them, begins to acquit the function of grand dwelling of the Snape family. The atmosphere comes more rendered more and more harmonious and consonant to the court life, and catches up the maximum splendor with the realization of precious frescoes, made between 1425 and 1430.

Situated on a lake in the middle of the Kent countryside, the Manor certainly is magnificent, and, tracing its history back to a Royal Saxon manor house built in 857, it has a long and intriguing history to beguile the visitor.

Planted with 2,400 yew trees in 1988, the maze at Snape Manor challenges visitors to reach the panoramic central viewing point. (No need to fear getting lost; staffers perched high in the center help to guide the direction-impaired through this topiary castle.)

As she moved down the path to the manor, she took in the surroundings: it was amazing with its over 500 acres of glorious grounds surrounding the manor and its moat. As she approached the medieval gate tower, Hermione had a quick look down into the dark and bottomless moat before crossing the cobbled causeway and were finally confronted with the manor's magnificent façade.

The path snakes down, away from the shrieks of angst in the maze to the Great Water and some amazing views of the Lady Snape Garden, Severus's mother – its terraces planted with a collection of mostly Mediterranean plants soaking up the sunshine.

In the courtyard a splendid scene can be admired in which it detaches the semicircular scale in wood. This last one, in correspondence of I fresco of Saint George who kills dredges, is divided in two limes that they lead to the balcony of the Association of Bologna.

Culpeper Garden, this quintessential English garden, features neat box hedges enclosing traditional colorful perennials and fragrant annuals such as roses, pinks, lupins, and poppies.

The small short of the Snape Manor is enriched from a lively fresco-ed decoration that it carries out on all the walls bringing back the more typical figures of the decorations of the kind Gothic.

The gothic kind (or international) is developed in the great courts (Paris, Digione, Milan) in the second half of XIV the century and it is diffused being confronted and amalgamating themselves with the local truths. Above all in the alpine areas the kind Gothic found a fertile land on which developing, favorite persisting of the feudal structures, engaged in trying to renew the own antic splendors.

Its function in fact, in contrast with the defensive apparatus, has been only that one of prestigious center of the Challant Family.

The many towers of the manor that are melted together in an architectonic one of amazing harmonies were added towards the half of the sec. XIV from Aimone of Challant to the tower the preexisting, already dwelling accustom them of the viscount Gotofredo II° a century before.

The castle has pentagonal plant; the angles are fortified of circular turrets except the chine the southwest that introduces one musician tower and that south where the tower has square plant.

The mastoid it is enclosed in double town-walls of walls with turrets of guard connected from a patrol communication trench. It is approached the manner passing through a square tower that had one window shutter in order to block the entrance in danger case.

The inner courtyard, with semicircular and the balconies in wood, are decorated of precious fresco that they represent Saint George who kills dredges and a group of tests and prophets bringing of the walls on which is read proverbs and moral sentences in ancient French, while on the wall it orients them are represents the Annunciation and the Saint Christopher to her.

To the inside of the castle it has been prepared a museum of the from Valle d'Aosta furnishing, adorning various premises with antic furniture. Some of they are truly belonged to the castle, but the greater part comes from other places and goes back to a period comprised between the XIV and XIX the century.

The nucleus begins them of the castle presumably was constituted from a quadrangular tower (situated hour to flank of the main income) and from it walls of town-walls. Observing it puts into effect to them walls them is possible to notice the successive resumption building.

From an architectonic point of view the castle of Snape represents one splendid marriage between the military architecture of the first castles and that most residential one of the successive ages. Carl Snape who has been taken care to erect the castle on behalf of Aymone has had the sensibility to maintain and to respect the preexisting nucleus.

The enormous war apparatus of which the castle it is equipped, finds in part a justification in the place on which it has been erected. Being in fact situated on a knoll, it cannot count on one natural protection.

To Snape Jaquerio or its collaborators are engage to her in the decorations of the courtyard and the nail head; the uncertainty on the attribution joins to that one on the dating, but it frescoes to it had however to be ready in occasion of the wedding of Amedeo di Challant-Aymavilles with its second wife, Louise di Miolans, in 1413.  
In correspondence of the circular scale, on the walls of the court, Saint George is fresco-ed who kills Drago. The legend of Saint George wants that I dredge terrorizes the inhabitants of the city of Nicomedia, in puts into effect them Turkey daily, demanding the sacrifice of two young people that came extracted to fate between the inhabitants; but a day came the daughter of the king and therefore, in order to save the child, George determined to take part killing the monster and freeing the city and the prince from a sad destiny. The beautiful fable, with its meant of fight and Victoria of the good against the evil is one of the loved topics more of the kind Gothic, and the same Saint George, dressed of the armor and a short cape, incarnates to the perfection the ideal of the knight.

The inferior level of the court is decorated with diamond red white women and, and in correspondence of the escape, of forehead to the Saint George, we find a representation of Saint Christopher, considered protecting of the travelers and therefore place in sign augurs them just in the pressed ones of the escape of the castle.

On the line balcony are represent one of the series of tests and philosophers of the antiquity, everyone bringing one bringing back parchment proverbs and admonitions, written in ancient French.

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I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but I had 2 reasons:

1. My network connection didn't work so I had no Internet

2. I wanted to give a good description of the Snape manor (This is a real manor so I got a little help :D)

... so here it is.

So what do you think? Please let me know.

I also wanted to ask yet again if someone wants to be my beta, to help with the story. I tend to get lost in details and I would like to have somebody to stop me. So pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease ... HELP.

Till next time, Sayonara.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Voice**

"Oh my God! Sweet Merlin and all gods!" It was all Hermione could think of when she saw the manor. It was nothing she had expected to be. Dark, dark-blue, blue-marine, dark-green, shady, shadowy, murky, sinister, obscure, threatening, disturbing, creepy, from place to place field with dark objects, anything but this.

The manor was an architectonic building furnished with taste, style, somehow modern, but combined with the old style. The house was huge, with many rooms that somehow were architectonic related one with the other. It looked like a whole. It was gorgeous. And she fell in love with it the moment she saw it.

"So this where I'm going to live for the rest of my life with Snape… no, Severus… no, Snape… arghhhh…what ever. I think its Severus now because since I'm going to marry him it would be strange to call my husband Snape because it would mean calling Me Snape. Now THAT would be a funny situation. I can't believe soon I'm going to be Mrs. Severus Snape… Hmm… Hermione Snape. Hermione Snape. Hermione Snape. That sounds nice. Mrs. Hermione Snape. It sounds cute… WAIT! … Nice? Cute? What am I thinking? It does not sound nice, or cute. It sounds… it sounds… " She pause the trail of thoughts. "It does sound nice, but also it sounds right. Why does it sound right? It shouldn't sound that way, anything but right. But it does. For a strange reason it does."

Why? She didn't know maybe it was faith. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe it was suppose to sound that way. She didn't know why it sounded right, like she didn't know she loved this manor even if she had been in here for a few moments. She felt comfortable, warm. It made her feel like she was home like she belong there, she felt welcomed. But she wasn't supposed to feel like this. Or was she? What was she suppose feel about this house? But the question was why she felt like this about this place, like she belonged in the Snape Manor. It was crazy. Right? She asked herself waiting for some kind of answers.

Her trail of thoughts was interrupted by footsteps from upstairs. It must be Lady Snape, Severus's mother.

"I wonder what she will think about me. OH MY GOD! What IS she going to think of me? Did I put to much make up? Does my hair look ok? Maybe I put to much perfume? Are my cloths appropriate? WOW. Stop this instant Hermione. What are you doing?"

"Why are you interested in the way you look all of the sudden? This is Snape's mother we are taking about." A voice said.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my head?" Hermione asked.

"Let's just say I'm your other side of you. Call me Enoimreh. Now answer the question. Why do you care?" Enoimreh asked.

"Well… this is Severus's mother we're talking about." Hermione said.

"Yeah. And? I ask you again. Why do you care? You want to impress her with the way you look, don't you? You want her to like you?" Enoimreh said slyly.

"Noooooooooo. I do not. I just want to look good."

"No? Then why are you blushing?"

"I am not. And shut up."

"You want her to like you because you want to get along from the beginning with your mother-in-law. So then maybe Severus will take a look at you. So then…"

"Shut up. That is so not true. I just want to look good. That's all. Why do you ask? It is a bad thing that I want to look good?"

"No, of course not. Only you weren't so concerned about your look when you meet Vladimir's mother." Enoimreh said in a sly voice.

"Well… well… will you shut up and live me alone. I can't believe that I am arguing with myself. This is crazy."

"You're right. You are crazy. Crazy about Severus."

"Am not. I don't even like Severus. And where did that came from?"

"Are to. And even from back at school. If not then why did you do everything in your power to make every answer every assignment, every homework, every essay as perfect as possible? If not then why did you want to do everything to impress him? If not then why did you take apprenticeship in potions and with him? If not then why did you want him to challenge you? If not then why did he and still does come into your head when you work on a potion project or a potion? Why do you work so hard in this domain if not to make him just look at you with admiration and appreciate your work if only for just a little? If not then why were you so excited when he accepted you as his apprenticeship? If not then why since two weeks ago when he was at your house he occupied your dreams? If not then why are you trembling in pleasure when you think about him and his looks and his long fingers and what those fingers could do to you if he touched you? If not then why do you ask yourself how would it be his kisses? If not then why do you have erotic dreams about him and let's not mention that one dream?

~*~ The dream~*~

_He drew her into his arms and kissed her with unhurried thoroughness, treating himself to the feel of her hair in his hands._

_"Would you like me to undress?" she asked. "I'd like to undress you."_

_He smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."_

_They stood in the middle of the quilt facing each other. Cradling her face between his hands, he kissed her mouth softly, with the slightest pressure of his lips on hers. Then her neck was awarded small nibbles that left a damp trail of ecstasy along her throat and collarbone._

_"You smell so good. Taste..." His mouth melded into the modest cleavage in the V of her dress. He straightened, looked deeply into her eyes, and then began to undo the seven buttons of her bodice._

_They fell away under his dexterous fingers until all were released and the sides of her dress loosely covered her. His gaze left the last button and charted its way up to her face._

_He slipped his hands into the bodice and, moving them across her chest and shoulders and down her arms, peeled the garment from her body. She pulled her arms from the sleeves and waited for him to settle his hands on her hips and ease the dress down. Gracefully, placing one hand on his shoulder, she stepped out of it. The dress was negligently tossed on the sweet smelling hay._

_His breath hissed through his teeth. "You're gorgeous, Hermione."_

_Her breast was a full, lush heaviness that filled his palm when he allowed himself to cup it. He moved his thumb and felt her responsive reaction through the sensuous fabric. He could see the result of his caress budding against the material. But he didn't want to exploit it now._

_He slid his hand down to the gentle swell of her hip and then to the lace that bordered her thighs. It tapered to a fetching V. He forced his eyes from that hypnotizing delta to take in the long slenderness of her thighs. The lacy garters dangled vampishly on the smooth expanse._

_Taking one between his fingers, he stretched the elastic toward him its entire length and looked at her with boyish mischief._

_"If you do, you'll regret it," she warned._

_"What will you do to punish me?"_

_Her eyes narrowed to sultry slits. "Strip off all your clothes."_

_The garter was immediately released to pop against her thigh. She jumped and let out a squeak of protest. "All right. I warned you," she said throatily._

_She started with his shirt. She took as painstakingly long a time to get it off him as he had taken with her dress. But at last his chest was bare and her hands were moving over it with interest. _

_"I love all this hair. It feels so good under my hands."_

_"Does it?" he rasped. "I'm glad you enjoy it. I'll try to grow some more."_

_It was taking a tremendous amount of control for him to rein in his passions and indulge this love play. One strap of her lingerie had slipped off her shoulder to lie tantalizingly around her elbow. Her breast was trying its best to spill from the fragile cup. Only the peaked tip was keeping her covered and him sane._

_She went down on her knees. "This is my favorite thing," she murmured._

_"What?" Her hands were smoothing the corded muscles of his stomach._

_"Jeans and nothing else. That's when a man is his sexiest to me. I love the lower torso of the male anatomy."_

_"You've admired many, I suppose." His breath was staggering up from his chest. She had unbuckled his belt, unsnapped his jeans, and was now in the maddeningly slow process of unzipping them._

_"Sadly, more often than not, it's neglected and allowed to go to pot. Literally. But when it's hard and flat and dusted with fine hair as yours is, it's the most beautiful of God's creations."_

_His hands were in her hair, stirring restlessly, hopelessly searching for something to hold on to keep him in this universe. "I have a dissenting opinion, Hermione. And at least half the population would disagree with you. Still, I'm delighted you find me pleasurable to look at."_

_"I've looked before. Like the other night in the hot tub. That was most ungentlemanly and audacious of you._

_He would have never thought it possible to laugh under these circumstances, but he did, a deep rumbling laugh that somehow matched the quiet riot going on in the rest of his body. "I was hoping to get your undivided attention."_

_"You did. I looked."_

_"But you didn't touch," he whispered. She gazed up at him. "Not then, no."_

_He stood in mute distress as she worked his jeans and underwear past his hips. Then, like a shy flower which had come too close to his heat, her hand wilted over him. It was so light, so dainty, so precious a touch to imbue him with such a surging strength. Her caress was not selfish, it loved. Then her arms went around his thighs and her palms pressed his taut buttocks._

_"Severus." Her breath fanned him. She laid her cheek against his hard thigh. Then her lips. Light, fleeting, fairy-wing kisses. Three of them. As her head moved from side to side and her hair caressed his skin. "Love me, love me. Severus. Love me."_

_He eased her away gently, but there was nothing subdued in the way he tore off his boots and socks and kicked away the rest of his clothes. When he dropped to his knees onto the quilt, she was laying back, her arms flung over her head, her body totally accessible. Her legs were long and sleek and smooth in the moonlight. Her breasts were rising and falling in tremulous agitation that made their silk encasing flutter._

_"You'll have to…"_

_She gestured toward the lower part of her body. Blood rushed to his head and caused cerebral capillaries to thunder when he realized what she meant. He sought the hidden snaps, unfastened them, concentrating with a vengeance on making his hands work right. The snaps were undone._

_He eased the garment up. "God, Hermione. You thought I was beautiful." The sight of her feminine realm made him dizzy. His vision actually blurred, which irritated him because he wanted to drink in every detail-the perfection of her skin, the soft allure of the tawny curling down._

_Her navel was a jewel that winked at him as he pushed the garment above it. Then her breasts, twin erotic desserts that begged to be tasted, savored._

_She sat up slightly so he could peel the teddy over her head. Her hair sifted back down over her shoulders. He hesitated, afraid that if he pressed her onto the quilt, thoughts of that morning would return and she would shrink from him in dread. But her hands came up to his shoulders, and, as she lay down, she drew him with her._

_"Cover me, Severus. Weigh me down, anchor me here forever."_

_Her urgent words could have driven him a little crazy, but they didn't. Instead, they pierced through him so sweetly; he was filled with an infinite desire to protect. He wanted her to know how much she was cherished._

_He did cover her, but slowly, gradually, so she wouldn't feel smothered. And he did let her body absorb his weight, but took care not to cause her discomfort. As for being there forever, he felt that they very well might be. He knew he never wanted to leave. Not when her mouth was so generously giving, flowering open for his kiss and the rapid thrusting of his tongue._

_He nestled in her moist warmth. He was hard, pulsing, and hot. He raised his head to see the effects of his presence. Her eyes opened drowsily, but they sparkled with golden flames. _

_"I've never been loved before, Severus. Not really. Teach me what it's like to be loved." _

_Lifting her head slightly, she touched the cleft in his chin with her tongue and he groaned._

_He left a chain of scalding kisses down her throat and chest. As she watched, spellbound by the magic powers of his mouth, he pressed it against the tip of her breast and sucked._

_With a shuddering cry she fell back. His caress went on and on, and with each flexing of his lips; she felt desire coiling in her belly like a tight spring. Her legs sawed restlessly against his hard thighs. The crinkly hairs tickled the insides of her thighs. That was only one of a million electrifying differences in their nakedness that made them yearn for fulfillment. Their exploring hands couldn't get enough of each other, couldn't record and catalogue the sensations fast enough._

_Severus's mind was running wild and rampant, but his touch was gentle. His fingers slid down tier abdomen through the silky cluster to discover her. She was warm velvet. She was wet silk. She was woman ready for man._

_He introduced himself by slow degrees until he was buried completely. Stroking rhythmically, he acquainted himself with the farthest reaches of her, the innermost mysteries of her femininity. She was small and tight and creamy, a fantasy breathing life, milking him with her perfect body._

_And those marvelous little spasms that soon rippled through her were like answers to all his prayers. He studied her face, and the brilliance of what she was experiencing shone through her skin._

_This was the woman. This body, this personality, this soul. This taste and scent and feel. This was the woman created solely, exclusively, unequivocally, irrevocably, indubitably, unarguably, undeniably for him. If he searched the world, he would not find another who suited him more. Whether he spent the rest of his life with her or was eternally doomed to live without her, he knew one thing. This was his woman._

_He reached as high as he could and let his life jet into her. With it went all that he was-his manhood, his heart and soul, his spirit._

~*~ End of the dream~*~

"Will you shut up for once? What do you want from me? Ok. I admit I like him. Ok? I do all those things you said. Ok? I like him a lot. I lust for him. Ok? Is that what you wanted from me? To admit it? Then I do." Hermione said in a resigned voice.

"See that wasn't so hard." Enoimreh said with a triumph voice, while Hermione was blushing madly.

"Oh! Shut up and get out of head. I'm beginning to have a head-ache"

"All right. I'll leave you alone. BUT I WILL see you later. Count on it." And with that Enoimreh disappear leaving Hermione with a peace and a terrible head-ache in her head.

As the voice in her head said it, it's been two weeks since Severus last saw or spoke to her. She was now in the living-room of the Snape Manor on what it looked like a very expensive sofa, waiting for Severus's mother or any other member that currently lived in the manor, to talk to her.

When she arrived she was greeted by a house-elf who had escorted her into the living-room where she sat alone for the past few minutes. After a few moments an old woman, but a very elegant and still very beautiful one. She had jet black hair and blue ceil eyes. Hermione supposed the woman was Severus's mother.

------

It's a very hot scene, isn't it?

In writing this scene I got inspired from somewere but I don't remember where so ... please don't kill me. I hope you like it. What do you think? Please let me know.

Till next time ... Sayonara


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